THE history of Asian immigration in Coventry is the subject of a new exhibition at the city's Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

Among those featured in the exhibition are former Coventry Lord Mayor Sucha Bains who, in 1962, was the only Asian clerical worker at Jaguar, and Mohamed Daar, who became the city's and Britain's first Asian policeman.

Mr Daar was paid £12 a week when he joined the force in 1966, although he quit the force by the end of the decade.

The exhibition, which is on show until June 29, uses old photographs and archive film to show how Britain has changed.

It also includes stories about the setting up of the Indian Cultural and Welfare Society, which organised film screenings and even invited Bollywood stars to visit places like the old Savoy Cinema in Radford.

Pictures on display show actresses such as Shashikala having tea with local aldermen and "Miss Sharma" being entertained by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress in 1962.

Mohinder Singh also remembers how, during the early 1960s, some men survived on bread and jam until wives arrived to cook chapatis and dhal.

And Mohinder also confesses that he was drunk on his first day in Coventry - after being invited to have his first ever beer at a long-gone pub called the White Lion.

There are also memories from Chand Lal-Sarin, who went on to make her home in Earlsdon, and became Britain's first Asian magistrate. She says: "Loneliness is a disease in Britain - everybody lives so far away and so you have to telephone before visiting."

The exhibition was produced in conjunction with Renaissance West Midlands, the Asian Mental Health Access Project, Coventry NHS and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

* There will be a showing of the 1993 film Bhaji on the Beach, celebrating the experiences of British Asian life, at the Herbert at 6.30pm on June 6 and a Coming to Coventry Reminiscence Day at 1pm on June 24. All are welcome.